


Fun Sized

by Lyndsaybones



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-11 23:33:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10477029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyndsaybones/pseuds/Lyndsaybones
Summary: Season 7 Halloween Fluff





	

There are lots of kids in her building, which used to be fun. There was a time when watching them march off to school or head out on a walk was something she got a little vicarious thrill from.

Someday, someday, someday.

But then someday turned into never. Suddenly, all she can feel is grief and anger over meaninglessness of it all. Having all those kids around is no longer fun. It is a reminder of what she cannot have.

This year, she is not one bit interested feigning enthusiasm for the goblins and ghoulies who will come knocking. She put a bowl of fun sized Snickers outside with a “take only 1 please!” sign taped to the door. She’s spending the evening with a book and a bottle of Pinot.

She settles on the couch, glass in hand when she hears a soft knock.

“Seriously?” she sighs as she gets up.

She opens the door, ready to disappoint a princess or dinosaur with the news that there’s no more candy. But the bowl is full and Mulder is crouching down to snatch a couple treats for himself.

“You forgot to say ‘trick or treat,’” she admonishes him.

“Tricks are for kids, Scully,” he says as he rises and stuffs the candy in the pocket of his leather jacket.

The glass and a half she’s already had is making her feel all warm and buzzy. She’d abstained from alcohol during the weeks of preparation and IVF. Now it doesn’t take much to make her head swim. Mulder’s surprise visit is only magnifying that feeling.

“What brings you by, Mulder?”

“Get your shoes,” he says as he taps a toe at her bare feet.

She is immediately suspicious and perhaps a little excited.

“Why?”

“We’re going out.”

“I’ve been drinking,” she says, warning him away from any potential casework.

“It’s not work. Grab your jacket too,” he says as he steps in and closes the door.

A half hour later, they are walking with a small group through Lafayette Square led by a man with a lantern in Revolutionary costume.

“A ghost tour, Mulder?”

“You know they called this place Tragedy Square?” he asks, his breath puffing out in an exuberant white cloud.

“I did not,” she says as a shiver races down her spine.

The tour guide is telling the group to watch for the ghost of Philip Barton Key as they wander near the statue of the Marquis de Lafayette.

“Isn’t this fun?” he says as he wraps a long warm arm over her shoulders. His broad smile is infectious.

She leans into him and lets his heat settle over her.

“Yeah, this is fun.”

They finish the tour at the White House an hour later, the guide warning that they may see the specter of Abraham Lincoln through the window.

“Wouldn’t Lincoln be at Ford’s theater?” she whispers out of the side of her mouth.

He squeezes her a little closer. “Shhh, this is cool.”

The walk from the White House to Georgetown is not a long one, but by the time they make it back to her building she is freezing with numb fingers and a drippy nose. At her door, they find the candy bowl empty and the sign torn from the door.

“Brats,” she sighs as she picks up the shredded paper and festive orange bowl.

“Little bastards cleaned you out, huh?”

She huffs her disapproval and shoulders the door open.

“I don’t know why I thought there’d be any left.”

She can feel him hovering behind her as she shucks out of her coat and grabs an extra wineglass from the kitchen. There is a soft crinkle and a tap on her elbow. She turns   
to him and he is holding out one of the Snickers bars he pilfered earlier. She takes it with a little chuckle.

“Not the worst Halloween ever?” he asks.

“No,” she says as she fills their glasses. “The worst Halloween was when my mom permed my hair and made me go as Little Orphan Annie.”

“I bet you were adorable,” he says as he plops down on her couch.

She sits down next to him and sniffles away the chill.

“Thanks for tonight. It was fun.”

“You know I’m always ready for a ghost hunt,” he says as he takes his glass.

“I mean it, I needed to be out of the house tonight. Seeing all those cute little kids is…a lot.”

“I thought maybe.”

“Next time we can just go see a movie or something though,” she says as she unwraps her candy and pops it in her mouth.


End file.
